DETROIT (AP) -- Gov. Rick Snyder has withdrawn an offer that would have allowed the state's Department of Natural Resources to operate Detroit's 985-acre Belle Isle and save the cash-strapped city about $6 million, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing confirmed Tuesday.

Snyder's office sent Bing a letter saying the deal has been removed from further consideration, Bing said in a release. The action followed a 6-3 vote by the Detroit City Council that kept the offer off Tuesday's agenda.

"This plan would have provided state funding for the operation, renovation and maintenance of the island as a state park, while we work to stabilize the city's finances," wrote Bing, who added he was "disappointed' with the council's decision.

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"I believe the majority of Detroiters supported this lease agreement. City Council's actions ... will force us to look at making additional cutbacks that may negatively impact the city's other parks."

The offer to manage and maintain Belle Isle was considered one part of the state's overall plan to help the city find fiscal stability. Detroit's budget deficit is more than $300 million. A state-appointed review team must report to Snyder by Feb. 16 whether Detroit is in a financial emergency. Snyder then could determine that the city needs an emergency manager.

The proposed lease would have started at 30 years, but could have been extended. Vehicles would have been charged an annual $11 fee that allows entry into all state parks. Currently, there is no cost to cross onto Belle Isle, which sits east of downtown and near the middle of the Detroit River.

"It's been made clear that the end of January was crucial for the DNR to plan and marshal its resources for the coming year," Snyder spokesman Caleb Buhs told The Associated Press earlier Tuesday. "Without any action in that time frame, it becomes impossible for the state to partner (with Detroit)."

One of the city's jewels, Belle Isle's physical condition has deteriorated over the years as Detroit's fiscal condition worsened. Ball fields are run down. Some canals are choked with weeds. Picnic pavilions also could be better maintained. Detroit has little money to perform those services consistently.

"Since the city of Detroit is in a short-term fiscal crisis, the offer of a long-term lease for Belle Isle came through the Snyder administration as another means to reduce the financial burden on city government," Council President Pro Tem Gary Brown said Tuesday afternoon in an emailed statement.

Brown supported the state's lease offer.

"I strongly believe that the city of Detroit should not be managing Belle Isle," Brown said. "Park management is not a core service of a municipality. Our focus ... needs to be on core services, such as police, fire and garbage pick-up."

But councilman Kwame Kenyatta, an opponent of the lease offer, criticized the state and Bing for not seeking alternatives to fund the operations of Belle Isle.

"The offer should have never been on the table in the first place," Kenyatta said. "The state is always trying to hold a gun to the city's head."

Kenyatta said the city can institute a vehicle fee of its own to raise money for the park's operations.

"If we decide to go with a fee that will stay with the city," he said.